Thanks.
I find the element of observance - "How can I survive this? What can I use?" - intrinsic to the charm of hardcore action gaming. A test of not only reflexes and tactics, but also resourcefulness. Best of all, unlike IRL, you can die horribly and try again ad infinitum, until you're a regular MacGyver.
I think it's why I gravitated to Metal Black and Gun.Smoke for my ST writing endeavours, both of them relying on moderately obscure techniques to balance out seemingly-insurmountable, much-lamented odds.
(this is also why I pick up input glitches like lint on velcro!
)
Stage 6 of Saigo exemplifies the need for resourceful play. You can't control the accursed RNG spawner, but the terrain is set in stone (bwaaa!), and will reliably influence enemy behaviour - as will your own actions (monks and jumpslashers HATE it when your Y position is better than theirs!). In the best tradition of hardcore action (and life itself I suppose!), the tricky part is applying these learned solutions on the fly in a furiously changeable battlefield.
Speaking of stage 6's wickedly unhelpful RNG spawns - favourite thing has to be a monk and samurai spawning on the same frame, so that when you hop to bait the former's staff toss, the latter emerges from behind his cloak all
"Surprise, motherfucker!" Alone on The Hellish Battlefield™, don't trust
nobody!
---
Spent some time trying to master the fine art of the
st6 jumpslasher dodge - deliberately overlapping so they'll haplessly cleave the empty space in front of them. Their reach is scary, but as with the groundtypes, there's a considerable safespot at overlap. In a situation where attempting to slip past will see them pivot and gash you, this can save your bacon. Ideally you won't have to use this technique at all, but it's good to know if the worst happens (typically a giant+JS same-frame spawn, with pursuers impeding a retreat).
Crouching near the rocks can allow some nice safespots too, versus single monks, samurai and jumpslashers, though a backstabber will come along shortly to kill you. Again, a potential last resort.
Also, I don't think I ended up using this at all in my current run, but you don't need to jump onto the rocks at all. It's theoretically possible to go from one end of the stage to the other without hitting [jump] once. Just walk into them and Tsukikage will clamber his way up. Potentially useful if you want a jump stalled for some reason. PCE version lacks this mechanic entirely, in addition to making the rocks themselves a deadly liability as mentioned
here. Annoying change.